US examining Russian companies for risks to supply chains
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(Reuters) — A senior official with the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday the government is examining dozens of Russian companies that could threaten the integrity of American firms’ supply chains.
Assistant Attorney General John Demers told reporters the process is expected to take months and could lead to some Russian companies being referred to the Department of Commerce for further action.
The announcement came just as the United States imposed a broad array of sanctions on Moscow over alleged interference in last year’s presidential election, hacking and other “malign” actions.
Several Russian companies were blacklisted as part of those sanctions - including Russian cyber contractor Positive Technologies - but Assistant Attorney General Demers’ comments suggest others may find themselves in the firing line soon as well.
Assistant Attorney General Demers said investigators would be looking at “a known connection between a particular company and the Russian intelligence services” as they evaluated whether a company was a risk. Non-Russian companies that had back-office operations in Russia would also be examined, he said.
He declined to say precisely which companies were being examined by the Department of Justice, saying that the inquiries were at an early stage and could take months. He noted that the number of companies would likely be whittled down as investigators made progress.
“We’ve begun that first step analysis of ‘What should we take a hard look at,’” he said.
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